"As your new Minister for Magic, I promise to restore this temple of tolerance to its former glory. Therefore, beginning today, each employee will submit themselves… for evaluation. But know this: you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide."

When one takes in consideration that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is the largest Ministry department (to which the remaining six departments are all, in some respect, answerable with the possible exception of the Department of Mysteries),[8] it seems to be safe to presume Thicknesse was high up at the Ministry at the time of his appointment in 1996.

In the summer of 1997, as part of Voldemort's plan to take over the Ministry, Death EaterYaxley placed the Imperius Curse on Thicknesse. He mentioned that this was more difficult than he had expected and made him very nearly late for an important Death Eater meeting at Malfoy Manor (as Thicknesse's nature allowed him to resist). Many of the other Death Eaters were impressed with Yaxley's work, Antonin Dolohov clapping him on the back in congratulations, but Voldemort pointed out that Thicknesse was only one man, and that he needed Minister Rufus Scrimgeour surrounded by his agents before he acted.[3]

Thicknesse proved useful, however. As head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Thicknesse had regular contact not only with the Minister himself, but also with the Heads of all the other Ministry departments, making it easier to subjugate the others. Thicknesse proceeded to do just that, remaining undiscovered and using his position to infiltrate the senior ranks of the Ministry, slowly working together to bring Scrimgeour down.[3]

Thicknesse also aided Voldemort in trapping Harry Potter at 4 Privet Drive, mainly by making it an imprisonable offence to connect the house to the Floo Network, to place a Portkey there, or to Apparate in or out. Officially, all of this was done for Harry's protection, but in reality, it was pointless, as Harry was protected by a charm from his mother's blood while living with his relatives. The Trace was also in effect, so if Harry or anyone around him cast a spell to get him out of there, Thicknesse would know about it and so would the Death Eaters.[9]

The Order of the Phoenix, as a result, believed Thicknesse had "gone over", which made it a big problem with the plan to move Harry. They abandoned the original plan, as they were unable to wait for the Trace to break; the moment Harry turned seventeen, all the protection he received from his mother would be lost. In short, Thicknesse thought he had Harry cornered good and proper, to which Harry could not help but agree.[9] As such, the Order was reduced to using the only means of magical transport left to them: broomsticks, Thestrals and Sirius Black's motorbike, setting the stage for the flight from Little Whinging,[9] and the murder of Alastor Moody by Voldemort.[10]

As Minister for Magic

"As your new Minister for Magic I promise to restore this temple of tolerance to its former glory. Therefore, beginning today, each employee﻿ will submit themselves... for evaluation. But know this: you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide."

Eventually, Thicknesse and the other subverted high-ranking Ministry officials, launched a "smooth and virtually silent" coup alongside the Death Eaters,[2] and on 1 August, 1997, the Ministry fell.[11] The Daily Prophet was also taken over, the official version of Scrimgeour's murder was that he resigned, and Thicknesse replaced him. Only the Order seemed to be aware that he was under the Imperius Curse. As a result, Thicknesse was nothing but a puppet, taking care of everyday business while Voldemort, effectively the true Minister, was free to extend his power beyond the Ministry.[2]

Harry witnessed Thicknesse's altered nature while under the Imperius Curse, which showed him having a strong hatred for Muggle-borns, referring to them as "Mudbloods", as well as blood traitors, whom he claimed to despise just as much. While Harry was searching for the Horcrux in Umbridge's office, Thicknesse arrived momentarily to jot down a note, and almost discovered Harry while he was under the Invisibility Cloak, though he ultimately failed to notice him.[5]

In late 1997, Xenophilius Lovegood's daughter was kidnapped in order to stop his telling the truth to the public and encouraging support of Harry Potter in his magazine, The Quibbler. Hoping to get her back, he sent an owl to the Ministry when Harry, Hermione, and Ron came to see him. Thicknesse promptly dispatched Travers and Selwyn to investigate. They arrested Lovegood, but failed to capture the trio.[13]

Battle of Hogwarts

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Thicknesse was stationed within the ranks of the Death Eaters and fought with them against the castle's defenders. He was amongst a group of masked and hooded Death Eaters who successfully penetrated Hogwarts, and duelled with Percy Weasley. His hood slipped off as he tried to avoid being cursed, and Percy mocked his former boss before using a sea urchin jinx, causing Thicknesse to sprout sea urchin-like spikes all over his body. The corridor they were in was then hit by Augustus Rookwood's curse that killed Fred, which destroyed a great deal of the castle.[4] He and his comrades later retreated at Voldemort's command.[16]

Later life

"[…] the Imperiused up and down the country had come back to themselves, that Death Eaters were fleeing or else being captured, that the innocent of Azkaban were being released at that very moment, and that Kingsley Shacklebolt had been named temporary Minister of Magic."

Physical appearance

Thicknesse is described as having long black hair and a beard streaked with silver, as well as "a great overhanging forehead" that shadowed his glinting eyes.[5]Harry Potter thought he resembled a crab looking out from beneath a rock.[5]

Personality and traits

It is unknown what Thicknesse was like before the Imperius Curse was placed upon him, or after it was removed when Lord Voldemort was defeated. While under the curse however, his air of lofty authority mixed with his appearance made him generally intimidating and a little too happy with the way things were being run at the Ministry under him and the Death Eaters, casually espousing the view that blood traitors were as bad as Mudbloods to Harry Potter, who was disguised as Albert Runcorn at the time.[5]

It would be unfair to judge Thicknesse solely on his activities during his tenure as Minister for Magic however, as he was being controlled by the Death Eater Yaxley at the time, and was not responsible for his actions. However, since the Death Eaters had to resort to the Imperius Curse to get Thicknesse on their side, it is safe to say that he was not a sympathiser of their ideals. As head of the largest Ministry department, one can presume he was a fairly capable wizard, and as a law enforcement official, he is implied to have been an impartial and strong-willed individual, as he tried very hard to resist the effects of an Imperius Curse.[3]

Imperius Curse resistance: Thicknesse had a certain level of resistance against the Imperius Curse, as Yaxley claimed that he had difficulty on subduing him. Thus, the Imperius Curse that was placed on Thicknesse had to be particularly powerful.[3]

Demagogism: A politician, Thicknesse proved to be a good speaker and demagogue.[18]

Etymology

The name Pius is derived from the Latin word pius, which despite being similar to the English word "pious", has a different shade of meaning; that is, it refers to one who has reverence for law, government, and order. Thus it is particularly appropriate for a head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Minister of Magic. It has also been the regal name of twelve popes. Thus, the name of the man who created an organisation to oppress Muggle-borns may allude to the Inquisition, which persecuted heretics and, ironically, witches.

Thicknesse, meanwhile, may mean "thick" and the Proto-Germanic word nessye (or nessieh), meaning "tongue", probably alluding to the anti-Muggle-born propaganda passed during his tenure as Minister.

In Swedish, Thicknesse was renamed "Pius Korpulens", the word "korpulens" meaning "girth". In Serbian, Thicknesse was renamed "Pije Glupsije", the word "glupsije" meaning "dumb". In Italian, Thicknesse was renamed "Pius O'tusoe", that sound like the word "ottuso", an Italian word for "dumb". These translations may have been inspired by the fact that "thick" is also British slang for "not too bright".

Behind the scenes

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Thicknesse is present at the Death Eater meeting at Malfoy Manor, implying that either he has already been Imperiused (though it is not mentioned), or that he is an actual Death Eater. Since Voldemort asked him about the night of Harry's departure from Privet Drive after Yaxley had given his information, the latter is much more likely. He appeared, however, quite uncomfortable at this meeting presenting the likelihood that he was an accomplice of the Death Eaters, but not actually a member (note that he wears a pinstripe suit instead of Death Eater robes in this scene). Alternatively, in the film, there is a hint he may have been coerced by the Death Eaters to do their bidding (Thicknesse seems upset when Nagini curls up intimidatingly right beside him on the floor and when addressing Ministry officials his hand can been seen trembling).

In the Harry Potter Pronunciation Guide at the Scholastic official website, Thicknesse's name is spelt phonetically as "PY-us THIK-nuss" (as in "thickness").[20] However, Rowling pronounces it as "PY-us thik-NESS" (as in "Loch Ness").

Pius Thickness has the distinction of being the Minister for Magic with the shortest known term in office: 275 days (roughly 9 months).

Notes and references

↑ 1.01.1While it is never stated what Thicknesse's blood status is, it is unlikely Thicknesse would be appointed Minister for Magic by the Death Eater regime instead of other powerful and prominent pure-blood Death Eaters with Ministry connections like Yaxley, Travers or Selwyn, if he were Muggle-born.